A new report released by the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act is already responsible for more than 1 million jobs nationwide, including over 11,800 right here in Minnesota.

Here’s Vice President Joe Biden’s statement on the report:

This new report from the Congressional Budget Office is further evidence of what private forecasters and government economists have been saying: the Recovery Act is already responsible for more than 1 million jobs nationwide. From independent economists to Congress’s own nonpartisan research body, the experts have spoken and the debate is no longer whether the Recovery Act is creating and saving jobs, but how we provide even more opportunities to drive growth and support American workers. This early progress less than halfway through the program is encouraging, but we’re just getting started. In the coming months, we’ll break ground on thousands of infrastructure projects, launch multi-billion dollar broadband and high speed rail initiatives and make critical investments in our nation’s schools and businesses through the Recovery Act that will help put America back to work and lay a foundation for long-term economic growth.

When we went on the Make Minnesota Thrive Drive over the summer, we were already seeing the impacts the stimulus dollars were having across the state. While most of the stories we heard were about the impacts of the budget cuts championed by Governor Pawlenty and his Republican allies in the legislature, stimulus dollars were helping young adults afford college and creating jobs.